Pocket knives have been a useful tool for a variety of applications for more than a century and a half. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 23,975, entitled “Pruning Knife,” issued to G. G. Belcher in 1859 was directed to a pocket knife. Although pocket knives have been around for more than a century and a half, their design has not changed that much during that time. Compare for example U.S. Pat. No. 7,555,839, issued to Koelewyn, entitled “Fishing Knife” to Belcher's “Pruning Knife.” Aside from the specific features in the Koelewyn blade that facilitate cutting fishing lines, the basic design of the Koelewyn pocket knife, patented in 2009 and the Belcher pocket knife, patented in 1859 is the same. Both have a front and a back plate encasing the knife blade, both are held together using pins, and both have a profile that is likely an inch or higher.
Although the basic design of the pocket knife has not changed substantially over time, inventors have enhanced functionality by for example adding multiple tools to the traditional design. See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,528,215, issued to Elsner, entitled “Pocket Tool, in Particular a Pocket Knife.” When a pocket knife is carried on one's person, it can be heavy and bulky in a pocket or on a belt. When pocket knives are carried in purses, they can be hard to find.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to create a light-weight, low profile knife while still maintaining the functionality of the traditional pocket knife or the enhanced functionality of a pocket tool. It is thus desirable to design a pocket knife having a profile low enough to fit inside of a wallet. In that way, the pocket knife or low profile tool could be placed right inside of one's wallet, which would make it easier to find and less cumbersome than carrying a heavier, more traditional pocket tool.
In designing a sleeker, more modern pocket knife, an additional consideration relevant to modern life is the security risks posed by pocket knives at checkpoints such as airport security checkpoints. In these situations, it is often prohibited to carry a pocket knife or pocket tool having a sharp implement that could be used as a weapon onto an airplane, for example. Airline passengers who forget to remove their pocket knives from their person or carry-on luggage at airport screening checkpoints frequently must forfeit their pocket knife in order to board their plane. This can be a costly loss to air travelers.
It would be additionally advantageous, therefore to add a feature to the sleeker, low profile tool that would allow an airline traveler or anyone else faced with the choice of forfeiting his or her tool in order to enter someplace the ability to easily remove the sharp implement from the body of the tool. In this way, the traveler, for example, could retain the body of the pocket tool, while only having to forfeit an offending sharp implement. This would allow the knife owner to replace the knife blade or saw, for example, at a later time and at a relatively low cost.